Star Gazing
by NCISgirl1527
Summary: Phoebe and Piper take some time to just relax and look up at the stars and think about all that has happened in their course of the past years. They are also reminded of a special story from their childhood. Phoebe/Piper/Paige sister/friendship.


**_Okay so I wrote this when I was supposed to be doing something else…and I never intended to write anything for Charmed but I really like this story. So I figured I would post it anyway. I think I kept the characters reasonable in character, but again, I have never written them before… Anyway I hope you enjoy it._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters._**

**_Spoilers: All Hell Breaks Lose (very slight)_**

"I miss this," Phoebe said quietly looking up at the sky, "We haven't done this in such a long time."

"I know," Piper replied just as quietly, "We haven't done this since before Prue died have we?"

"No," Phoebe agreed a little regretfully. There was a short pause. "Why'd we stop?"

"Things just got so complicated once we got our powers," Piper said closing her eye for a brief moment, "we didn't have a lot of free time to just relax."

"We could have made time for it," Phoebe pointed out.

"Maybe we should have," Piper added.

"But we were just so caught up in the thrill of it all," Phoebe reminisced, "We were all so young back then, and the world was so bright and exciting." She paused for a moment. "What happened?"

"Life happened," Piper replied a little grimly, "demons and gremlins and warlocks and ghosts and the source happened."

"It wasn't all bad though," Phoebe pointed out, "muses and fairies and mermaids and leprechauns and other witches and Leo happened too." Piper smiled, but she did not respond, and for a while the pair fell into a peaceful silence. "I wouldn't trade it."

"Neither would I," Piper replied, "There are parts I would do over again…"

"Me too," Phoebe agreed, and again the two witches fell into silence. However this time the two were thinking about the same thing: Prue. Her death was the one thing they had encountered in their time as witches that they still wanted to change. Most events, even if they had ended badly, were nonetheless ended, and with time the sisters had come to realize that they had no desire to redo them even if they could. Prue's death was the exception to that rule and it always would be. Though they had both come to grips with it years ago, they would never truly accept it as over and unchangeable.

"Piper," a voice called from the house below, "Phoebe."

"On the roof," Piper called out, and a moment later Paige orbed her way onto roof.

"What are you doing?" the third sister asked slowly making her way across the roof and sitting down next to where Phoebe was laying.

"Nothing," Phoebe replied honestly.

"When we were little, our mom used to take us up here late at night," Piper explained, "At first it was just me and Prue, but then we started bringing Phoebe up here when she got older. Mom would always point out the different constellations and tell us what they meant. We kept doing it just the three of us for years after that, but somehow we kind of fell out of the habit." She paused. "It was sort of our special thing."

"I can leave if you want me to," Paige offered. Even though she was close to both Piper and Phoebe, she understood that she would never be as close to them as they were to each other.

"No," Phoebe said reaching out and grabbing Paige's right hand in her left, "You're one of us now."

Slowly Paige laid back against the roof and stared up at the stars above them. "It's so beautiful," she remarked quietly, and the other two nodded their agreement. Silence fell again.

"Do you remember the story Prue used to tell us?" Phoebe asked her older sister reflectively.

"Of course I do," Piper replied knowing without asking what story her sister was referring to, "you had her tell it every time we came up here."

"It was my favorite," Phoebe said a little defensively.

"Mine too," Piper reminded her, "and Prue's." There was a short pause.

"Will you tell it?" Phoebe asked quietly.

"I don't know." Piper's hesitation was evident in her voice. For the longest time their mother had been the only one to tell the story. Then Prue had been given the honor.

"Please," Phoebe said taking Piper's left hand with her free one.

"Alright," Piper said with a small smile. "Do you see those seven stars right there?"

"Yes," Paige and Phoebe said together.

"That is a constellation called the Pleiades," Piper continued, "or more commonly: the seven sisters. Greek mythology tells us that they are the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione who became a constellation to escape Orion, who was pursuing them." Here she paused for dramatic effect. "However there is also another story, which is that the Pleiades is a constellation for sisters. No matter how much distance may separate them, sisters are never far apart when they look at the Pleiades."

Phoebe squeezed her sisters' hands tightly as Piper paused again, and both girls returned the squeeze. Piper took a deep breath before finishing the story. "Do you see that star right at the top of the clump?" she asked quietly, and the other two nodded. "That one's Prue. Then that one a little down and to the left…well that's me. Phoebe do you see the bright one to the right of me and diagonally down from Prue? That one is you. Then there is that one below the others. If you were to connect all four it would make a diamond shape. Do you see it Paige?"

"Yes," Paige whispered almost inaudibly, "I see it."

"Good," Piper replied, "Because that one right there is you."

For several long moments the three of them just laid there in silence listening to the noises of the night around them, and as they did so it was almost as if they could feel the years falling away from them. They were there together and that was all that mattered. Time and space ceased to have any meaning whatsoever.

In the darkness, they felt closer to each other then they had in a long time. There was no hustle and bustle of everyday life to distract them. They were simply there together enjoying each other's presence. And in that moment, even Prue did not seem so far away.

_**So what did you think? Please tell me and if you think there is something that I could improve I am completely open to constructive criticism. Please review.**_


End file.
